1. Field of the Invention
This invention pertains to the field of microwave technology. More particularly, the invention pertains to a unique microwave antenna in combination with other power-generation equipment to achieve an extremely high-power, steerable, microwave cannon mountable on a vehicle for rapid deployment and operation to neutralize electrical circuitry in targets.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Electrical radiation antennas exist that broadcast a variety of low-powered signals in broad, narrow and directional beams. These low-power antennas use coaxial cable to transmit the energy from the radiation source to the antenna. In contrast, large, powerful radiation antennas have been used for radar and other operations but, when operated at power levels of 100 MW or above, their direction is frozen because of the need for heavy, rigid waveguides, maintained under high vacuum, to transmit the energy from the power source to the antenna. For those reasons, a highly maneuverable, high power, radiation antenna does not exist.
It has been determined that a high-peak power microwave transmission, on the order of more than 100 megawatts (MW) of energy, confined to a very tight beam (xe2x80x9cpencil beamxe2x80x9d Gxcx9c30 dB) using an L-band antenna, lightweight (less than 250 kg) and compact enough to be deployed on a land vehicle or air platform, may find wide use in intercepting a target and degrading or neutralizing the electronic control monitoring systems and directional control systems in such targets as flying missiles and piloted aircraft as a means of rendering them ineffective without injuring human life. In other situations, civil authorities may find use for the device to neutralize the electrical system and computer-driven controls of an automobile or other motor vehicle thereby eliminating the need for extended car chase situations by police authorities that often result in destruction of property and severe injury or death to participants and members of the public.
This invention is a compact, lightweight, steerable, high-power microwave cannon using a unique antenna for utilization in combination with a vehicle having self-propelled motor means and a power source for providing high-power, microwave energy to the antenna system. The antenna is carried on a surface of the vehicle along with a feed mechanism where the antennas are capable of movement into a folded storage configuration for rapid transport and expansion into an upright, useful configuration for providing the pencil-thin beam of high-energy microwave radiation.
The antenna generally comprises a microwave feed horn, held under high vacuum, for transmitting the microwave energy from the power source to the antenna system. A transreflector, that includes a plurality of spaced-apart conductors arranged in parallel formation inside a frame and formed into a relatively thin concave/convex surface in a parabolic curve, is hingedly mounted on an exposed surface of the vehicle. Preferably, the antenna is capable of moving from a storage position, generally parallel to the earth""s surface, to an upright position for receiving a large amount of microwave energy from the feed horn onto its concave surface.
A twistreflector is also provided in spaced-apart arrangement with the transreflector and arranged opposite and spaced-apart from the concave surface, thereof for receiving the reflected energy from said concave surface, rotating its polarization by 90xc2x0 and reflecting it backward toward the transreflector. That reflected energy, because it""s polarization has been rotated 90xc2x0 thereafter passes through the transreflector and continues outbound from the convex surface thereof in the form of a high-power, narrow-angle beam of polarized microwave energy beam for intercepting a moving or stationary target and utilizing the microwave energy to neutralize electrical impulses and other electronic-based functions in the target.
The twistreflector is mounted for fold-down configuration, along with the transreflector, to a storage position generally parallel to the earth""s surface. It is also able to be raised to an operable antenna position and is mounted on means for rotating the twistreflector about both horizontal and vertical axes. A useful feature of this invention is that for every angular degree of twist or rotation made in the twistreflector, the azimuth and/or elevation of the microwave beam is changed by twice that angle. For instance, a 10xc2x0 twist in the twistreflector azimuth will produce a 20xc2x0 change in the azmuthal direction of the beam.
The system operates at optimum condition when the pulse length is in the area of approximately 5 xcexcs and at a repetition rate of more than 100 Hz. The beam produced according to this invention has more than a 30 dB gain in the L-band where fo=1.3 GHz. The transreflector, as well as the twistreflector, each may cover an area of less than 7 m2 thus providing a compact antenna having a mass less than 250 kg to be carried on the vehicle.
Coaxial cable feed systems, including power dividers, junctions, or the use of more traditional multiple array antennas, have no use in this high energy field. The cumbersome high-vacuum waveguides also are of no use in their traditional form because of the inability of these guides to be rapidly reconfigured to allow rapid movement of the antenna and its directed pencil beam. As disclosed herein, this invention will produce a high energy beam that can be directed over a quadrant of azimuth and a quadrant of elevation without significant loss of power or directionality and without physically moving anything but the highly twistable twistreflector. This invention can be designed to produce a highly-functional, low-loss beam beyond a complete azimuth quadrant of ninety degrees.
Accordingly, the main object of this invention is a lightweight, compact, highly-steerable and aimable, high-power microwave weapon using a unique antenna to produce a highly focused beam of energy for contacting a target to neutralize the electrically driven systems therein, such as found in missiles, airplanes and automobiles, accompanied by a low impact on human life. Other objects of the invention include a means of propagating high-powered microwave energy in a controllable fashion quickly and without the use of traditional large and cumbersome vacuum waveguides, a means of quickly applying a high-energy pulsed microwave energy beam against a moving target to neutralize its electrical control systems without simultaneously exposing the pilot or other human cargo to unhealthy radiation. Further, an object is to provide a microwave antenna system that is foldable into a low volume storage configuration and rapidly expandable to a compact operable configuration for immediate use against a target.
These and other objects of the invention will become more clear when one reads the following specification, taken together with the drawings that are attached hereto. The scope of protection sought by the inventor may be gleaned from a fair reading of the claims that conclude the specification.